Palmer panel recommends toter system for trash

Apparent low bid for plan would cost residents $274 per year.

Garbage collection in Palmer will have a new, uniform look if supervisors adopt the recommendation of the township Environmental Steering Committee in deciding on a new five-year garbage contract.

Cindy Oatis, township recycling coordinator, told township supervisors at a special meeting Wednesday that the committee favors a trash-hauling deal in which residents would use 96-gallon plastic toters for their garbage. The capacity of the containers -- which would be retrieved mechanically at curbside by a specially equipped garbage truck -- is equal to three standard-size garbage cans.

"The cleanliness and the way it looks on the street is fantastic," Oatis told supervisors of visits to other communities that use the toter system.

Supervisors Chairman David Colver said supervisors likely would vote later in February.

"Time is definitely of the essence here," said Oatis, noting the township has to have time to educate residents about a new collection program.

Palmer sought garbage-hauling bids under three scenarios: the current, all-inclusive pickup system, which includes things such as quarterly white goods collection; a more limited system where residents would put out trash as they do now but contract independently for the pickup of things such as white goods and large bulk items; and the toter option, with individuals contracting for bulk and white goods pickup. Recycling is included in all three options.

Representatives of Raritan Valley Disposal, which submitted the apparent low bid for the toter option, told supervisors they're using the program in South Whitehall and Upper Macungie townships in Lehigh County. Raritan's bid of nearly $9.6 million for the toter plan over the span of the contract breaks down to $274 per year, or $22.83 per month. A bid on the toter option from J.P. Mascaro & Sons broke down to $288 a year, township officials said, while a proposal from Waste Management, the current township hauler, equated to $362.85 annually.

Oatis said the toter program, in which households would be limited to what can fit in the toter, likely would drive up recycling performance. Supervisor Robert Lammi, who was not at Wednesday's meeting, previously told supervisors that the amount of curbside waste in the township increased nearly 11 percent from 2005 to 2006 while recycling fell 6.4 percent. Palmer does not use recycling performance grants from the state to subsidize collection rates.

"People, for the first time in their lives, have to think about, "What am I putting in the garbage?"' said Charles Pantaleo, manager of Raritan Valley's Allentown division.

Oatis said smaller toters would be available for seniors or others who may need a smaller container, but noted there is no price discount.

Supervisors also heard from Robert C. Natkie, general manager of J.P. Mascaro's Allentown division. Mascaro was the apparent low bidder on the other two options proposed by the township. Both options carry slightly higher annual costs.

Natkie, a Palmer resident, encouraged the township to consider the other options. He said the all-inclusive option from his company represented a level of service that, at $24.58 per month, was less than $2 a month more than the toter option, and eliminated the need for residents to pay separately for removal of large items. He said it offered residents peace of mind.

"It's a whole customer service issue," he said.

Residents pay $151.48 per year under the current contract with Waste Management. The new contract will take effect in early May.

Township Manager Robert Anckaitis told supervisors that having residents pay separately for removal of things such as a couch or a stove may be the way to go.

"Those people who never use it are subsidizing the few who do use it," he said.

If supervisors decide on an option other than the current, all-inclusive system, Oatis said the township could decide to sell stickers that would be placed on extra bags of trash so the bags would be picked up. But those issues are still up in the air, she said.